ABSTRACT
The type of health care interaction is perfectly general, and may encompass diagnosis and management, education— of staff, patients and the general population— and administrative meetings. The history of telemedicine has been bedevilled by loose terminology, which, some observers feel, has not assisted its cause. Telemedicine is one aspect of the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in health care. It is widely believed that ICT generally has the potential to improve clinical care and public health. In 2007, Lord Crisp reported about how United Kingdom (UK) experience and expertise in health could best be used to help improve health in developing countries. Through mutual learning and collaboration in health service provision, such health partnerships could ultimately change health-care delivery at the national level; they might also change how the industrialized nations perceive the world. Telemedicine and ICT would be essential to maximizing the potential of these health partnerships.
